Feng Shui Articles & Tips

Feng Shui tips for Cyberspace

After meeting Terah, Brian, and Liv at a Feng Shui practitioners training in January, I Googled Feng Shui to see what would come up. I often do this as I work with websites and Internet promotions.

Google returns 25,600,000 results for the term Feng Shui. In February of 2006, one major search engine recorded almost 88,000 searches that included the term Feng Shui. Here are the top ten searches that included the term Feng Shui:

• 87963 feng shui
• 10180 architect builder connecticut feng shui
• 4880 feng shui bedroom
• 4180 feng shui tip
• 3493 2006 feng shui
• 2570 feng shui product
• 1881 feng shui office
• 1654 world of feng shui
• 1604 feng shui home
• 1590 free feng shui tip

As I surfed through the Feng Shui search results, some points of interest grabbed my attention that I thought I would share with those of you providing Fen Shui consultations. I am not a practitioner of Feng Shui but I have studied metaphysics and spirituality for over 35 years, so I am familiar with a thing or two.

Part of what I do often involves reworking beautiful artistic websites that aren’t producing any new business. These are sites that you might say emphasize form over function as they were built with little or no consideration given to how the Internet and the search engines function.

What really struck me on many of the Feng Shui sites was that so few seemed to incorporate the basic principles of Feng Shui into the site.

Tips for you Feng Shui Web Site

The Three Principles of Feng Shui

• Everything is Alive
• Everything Connects
• Everything Changes

Everything is Alive – The first principle of Feng Shui. Is everything alive? When you think about it, do you really believe that? Is the Internet alive? Is Cyberspace alive? Is it a different aliveness than your being alive? Sorry, my inquisitive nature begins to emerge. Well, everything is alive. The question can be asked, “How alive is your website?” What’s your site’s energy like? Does it have a dynamic presence? Feng Shui tip: Look at your site through new eyes – the eyes of the client.

Everything is Connected – The second principle of Feng Shui. The very nature of the Internet is connection – hyperlinks everywhere! I think more than 50% of the over 200 sites I looked at had broken links. As a Feng Shui consultant, I ask you – How does that affect the Chi of a site? Feng Shui tip: No broken links!

Everything Changes – The third principle of Feng Shui. A website needs to evolve. It needs to live and breathe and grow and age. When you Feng Shui a room or a house, is it really ever over? Things change. With your Feng Shui clients don’t you revisit every now and then to see if a little adjustment is needed here and there. Web sites need fresh content, things need to be moved around now and then in relationship to each other. Some things need to be archived where they will always be available but not on the top tier pages. Feng Shui tip: Update your site regularly.

Feng Shui and Clutter

From my brief exposure to Feng Shui I must have heard the word clutter a dozen times. I began to think of clutter as the Feng Shui mantra. And oh!, the clutter I found on Feng Shui web sites. My thought was, “Would I trust this person to Feng Shui my house – their web site is a direct contradiction to the basic principles of Feng Shui. Feng Shui tip: Look at your site with Feng Shui eyes – like a house, it has an entrance and many rooms – lay it out on the Bagua.

Color, dynamics, placement…you know the words. It’s a long list of Feng Shui terms, ideas and principles. As Feng Shui consultants and practitioners, you know them better than I. Why then are they not showing up more on Feng Shui web sites? Each of you could offer me numerous Feng Shui tips for my house or business. Use that knowledge on your website and find someone with knowledge of search engines and Internet functioning to ensure that your Feng Shui site is working for you and not inanimate in cyberspace.

One more point – a basic business principle – Be Visible – put your name address, phone number, email address everywhere. Most of the sites I visited make you click hither and yon to often times find a form to fill out or only an email address. A prospective client should be able to choose the avenue of contact that suits them. Putting your complete contact information everywhere on your site, gives your business credibility.

Oh – and what about those images and that picture of you, the Feng Shui consultant – are they consistent with the principles of Feng Shui and do they communicate what you are really all about?

John Harper

www.open-secrets.com